New Horizons by Max Roy

                       SAFE AND SOUND Looking around lately it is difficult for anyone anywhere to proudly assert that they live in a place where they are truly “safe and sound”. There are countries with a de facto policy of spreading fear and terror wherever they can spread their tentacles. Countries like Iran, Russia and China are telling the world about their aims to take over other countries and even kill entire populations. Many countries are worrying about where the appetites’ of these countries will take them next. NATO is re-arming and adding new members. North Korea is telling everybody how powerful they are and that they can sow destruction over a thousand miles away in any direction. Turkey wants to kill the Kurds.   We know about Afghanistan. Myanmar is persecuting the Rohynga with no response from other Islamic nations, and China is interning its populations of similar persuasion. Syria has just been invited back into the Islamic fold in spite of the fratricidal murder

                    Revenge is Good For The Soul Experts in social psychology, experts who treat us when stuff inside our heads go wacky, the people we often turn to, to help us emerge from a blue funk of various kinds, they all talk about how hating is bad for us. They say we are the beneficiaries when we give up harboring these negative feelings about people and events that have caused us pain. They even say we should find it in our hearts to forgive and forget. That may work for some things and for some people. But for me, there are things for which forgive and forget just doesn’t work. That is particularly true when opportunities exist to right the wrongs that have been experienced. And that is particularly true for me when there are opportunities for revenge. Some time ago there was a movie that came out, called “Inglorious Basterds”* It recounts the tale of a Jewish/American commando squad that was sent into Europe during World War II to find and kill Nazis. Their relentless

            What Is It About The Jews? Returning From The Edge Of Extinction Talking and writing about Jews is always touchy. Jews are immediately on their guard, conditioned into sensitivity by the experiences they have had in their lives. Many are worried that something will be said or implied that will raise negative perceptions regarding their background. Conditions are very different from what they were when I was growing up some eighty years ago, with quotas applied to Jewish students’ educational options, and no-go areas for house-buying or renting, even outright bans in hiring in some areas of work. And then we had the Holocaust, aiming to eliminate Jews from existence. Until fairly recently, it was considered impolite to be anti-Semitic, and some words referring to Jews are banned in public. But all over the world anti-Semitism has had a resurgence and being anti-Israel is considered a populist icon. And we know, even though it is under-reported, Jews are being aggressed

                                      Choices It seems cruel, but inevitable, that we are faced with choices throughout the years of our lives without the benefit, most of us, of wise counsel. We rarely come equipped with the wisdom on our own part that is likely to yield the best outcomes. It seems a contradiction that as we gain experience and knowledge, the range of choices, the options available to us, are increasingly reduced with the passage of time. By the time we reach an age where experience may have prompted wisdom, the social dynamics we face, and/or our physical capacities, may have radically limited the options for action which may be available to us. Younger ages are more often inclined to optimism, which is a good thing. The young are more likely to challenge the barriers they inevitably face. They have not yet been battered into submission by a flood of realities. When we are older, given our knowledge and experience, we are more likely to approach the challenges we

                   Thirst For Life What is it about the nature of some of us that we can barely contain the hunger we feel for the sight of every day? Where does that come from? Why do some of us have that and others seem to be left cold with the prospects we face for a new adventure every day? Do some of us fear the future and hang back for fear of what may come? Is it the sense of optimism that some of us feel that makes us so eager to see the next day, while others are held back by being more pessimistic? Where do you stand? What does one’s attitude in this area say about the kind of life you have led, will lead? I think this is really important. What do you think? When we are young, most of us, we don’t consider questions like this as we get on with the business living our lives each day. We are O so busy! We would rarely spend any time thinking about such things. But a pattern quickly emerges in the way we tackle the elements of our daily lives. If we are hungry, it shows! I

                    The Heroes We Do Be When did you first see them, Images behind your eyes? Waves of anger surging, Black hatred realized. Scenes of mothers weeping The helpless father’s sighs. The stricken child dies. For nothing, words and sympathy, To stifle painful cries. Listen to the uproar, To all the vicious lies! Who will come to rescue? Who will play the role? Who will find the magic, Who will pay the toll? And then you’re forced to realize, Only then you come to see, If you want to find some answers Sole from you they’ll come to be. Here you dream your secret visions, Stumble on your secret missions, Blindly trace internal coding, Motives that your brain is loading, Fates and actions have been cast, Indelibly written in your past. The scene your mind, it thus displays, Whatever path you tread or try, For you a hero’s role portrays, Answers, when the world’s awry.

                   Going Up To Jerusalem In ancient Israel it was traditional for the people to go up to Jerusalem for Passover, and for the holidays of Shavuot and Sukkot, each in a different season. They might also do so on special occasions as well, to crown a king or on the appointment of a new High Priest. For us, it was the impending marriage of my grandson in Israel that moved us from where we lived thousands of miles away. We went up to Jerusalem where his family is located, my Bride and I, to celebrate the occasion. As befits the magnificence of such an event in a beautiful park-like setting, all my children from various parts of the globe, and my grandchildren as well, assembled for the occasion. Of course the new bride’s family, and mutual friends, added materially to the throng. The crowd rivalled what we see at five-star events. As one would expect when such occasions take place, particularly in such a historic location, we encountered more than our share of mystery